According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Detroit Lions are signing tight end Steven Stilianos.
Stilianos just completed a season for the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas. He played in nine total games, catching 15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. At 6-foot-5, 251 pounds, he’s built like a linebacker and is more in the mold of an in-line blocking tight end. Per PFF, he logged 144 run blocking snaps with the Brahmas, earning a 57.0 grade from the analytics site. Stilianos is also a former high school quarterback, which the Brahmas tapped into for this trick play this year:
Prior to the UFL, Stilianos spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes, alongside Lions stars Sam LaPorta and Jack Campbell. In his senior year, Stilianos caught eight passes for 96 yards. There, he earned a 63.4 run blocking grade.
Stilianos’ addition is a little surprising. The Lions don’t appear needy at the tight end position with starters Laporta and Brock Wright seemingly on firm ground. Behind them, there’s currently a three-man race for the third spot on the roster between Shane Zylstra, Kenny Yeboah, and Zach Horton. Perhaps the Lions just want another body to help out during the preseason, or perhaps one of the depth players wasn’t meeting Detroit’s standards.
As of right now, there is no news about a corresponding move, but the Lions will need to create a roster spot in order to fit Stilianos on the 90-man roster. When that news breaks, we’ll update this post.
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